No special Bridgestone tyres or special Shell fuel. Michael was always used to preferential treatment, so when he came back a lot had changed. It was no surprise that Rosco beat him fairly. Still, there were glimpses of the old Michael, but they were only glimpses. He had past his prime.

Sad to se him go. The races were better with him in the field - not so much for his driving, but his presence alone.

I feel honored that I could follow the legend for so many years. The moment I'll remember after his comeback was when he tried to push Reubens into the wall in Hungary 2010. Video: http://www.viddler.com/v/975754ac

I'm glad he was not dominating this last period because then I would just do what I did last time it happened: I quit watching F1.

Edited by ForeverF1, 04 October 2012 - 10:31.Edited out the accusation the he tried to"kill Reubens".

Personally I think his comeback damaged his reputation. If he wanted to continue more time driving in F1 he should have signed with Merc in the summer, he delayed the descission too much.

I don't think so.There was a period of over a decade in which no matter who had what car and what the feck Schumacher was doing, driving and starting from, you would NEVER count him out of anything. It was overwhelming and, once Ferrari got it right while the others dropped the ball, it became the most crushing domination F1 has ever seen and one of the greatest dominations motorsport has ever seen. It was not all Schumacher, he had a fantastic team and near perfect cars behind to race, but it would not have happened without him as well.

This Mercedes stint confirmed, to me, that Schumacher was also lucky to have arrived right with refueling and sprint format and suited him perfectly.

I think his reputation has only been trully damaged for those who thought he could walk on water and make a winner from a turd.

I really disliked him during the Ferrari years, but since his comeback with Mercedes, I wanted him to do well.
I think he is still competitive. Not as strong as in his first career, but I think he still had the potential to win races.
Hopefully he'll take a final victory, but with the car he has now, it seems unlikely.
Here's hoping for a wet weather demonstration, finishing a minute ahead of everyone else and taking a 92nd victory, which would be the same amount as Prost's and Senna's victories combined. That would be a fitting end to his career I think.

Also, I think the most impressive statistic is not his 91 wins or 7 titles, but the fact that he's been in F1 for around a third of the sport's history...

I usually like to see sportsmen try to compete for as long as they can, as the sport is better off being disputed by the best available performers. Schumacher could have continued in the midfield or below. However with the large queue of youngsters that deserve a seat, I think it's a good thing he's going.

I was never a fan of him - the opposite in fact - but saying he damaged his reputation is nonsense. He was obviously past his peak which is what you'd expect from a driver in his 40s, yet was still strong, capable of matching his young near-top-driverish team-mate, during periods. That is remarkable for this stage of his career. Not his fault neither that the car wasn't great for these 3 years. And people won't forget the period of over a decade in which he was an absolutely dominant star.

A return to sportscars after over 20 years would be nice, although I remember quotes from him saying he never felt very well driving anything other than open-wheelers because he couldn't see the wheels and that upset his rhythm! That was a reason why DTM didn't work out for him in the early 90s. I don't think he'll want to commit to a full season of anything though, at least not for a while, I reckon the odd appearance here and there would satisfy his competitive streak however. Don't rule out for example him doing Le Mans once a year.

Well, the day had to come and it was never going to be a fairytale ending but I am sad to see Michael go; the level of professionalism amongst the current crop of drivers is, in no small way, a result of the focussed physical and mental discipline he brought to the sport. I genuinely wish him all the best for his future endeavours.

I don't think so.There was a period of over a decade in which no matter who had what car and what the feck Schumacher was doing, driving and starting from, you would NEVER count him out of anything. It was overwhelming and, once Ferrari got it right while the others dropped the ball, it became the most crushing domination F1 has ever seen and one of the greatest dominations motorsport has ever seen. It was not all Schumacher, he had a fantastic team and near perfect cars behind to race, but it would not have happened without him as well.

This Mercedes stint confirmed, to me, that Schumacher was also lucky to have arrived right with refueling and sprint format and suited him perfectly.

I think his reputation has only been trully damaged for those who thought he could walk on water and make a winner from a turd.

In 91, 92, 93 the refuelling wasn't there, and Schumacher was already great.

BTW, does anyone else notice, in Schumacher's press statement, a lack of faith in Mercedes Benz ? I may just be a skeptic here but these comment to me looks like Schumacher was a bit disgruntled towards the end of it all :

In the end, it is not my ambition to just drive around but to fight for victories; and the pleasure of driving is nourished by competitiveness.

To me it seems like this comeback is not all that memorable for him at all, since he is refering to the satisfaction with "the overall achievements" he has in F1.

I think you're over-analyzing and trying to find veiled attacks towards Mercedes that simply aren't there. He's offering an honest assessment of his time with Mercedes and is quite humble about it.

I'm sad to hear this.

I really disliked him during the Ferrari years, but since his comeback with Mercedes, I wanted him to do well.I think he is still competitive. Not as strong as in his first career, but I think he still had the potential to win races.

Also, I think the most impressive statistic is not his 91 wins or 7 titles, but the fact that he's been in F1 for around a third of the sport's history...

This is like 2006 all over again, as I'm feeling the same sadness all over again.

Though it will be sad to see Michael leave once more, I feel relieved that it's on better termst his time.

It's funny, he was my initial favourite driver when I started following F1, but then he non-stop winning with Ferrari turned me off a little bit and I started to want everyone to beat him as I grew tired of his success. In his last year I warmed up to him again and, over the past three years, I've been a bigger supporter of him than I ever was before. All we wanted was to see Michael stand on the top of the podium again. He didn't do this but, considering the car he had, he did a damn good job at times. Thanks for all the memories Michael.

Greatest driver ever for me. I didn't think that before his comeback. He had a lot of courage to come back and risk tainting his legacy but despite not winning, or even getting regular podiums, I don't think he has tarnished his image at all. All I saw was a slightly old man wanting to continue the thing that he truly loved. I'd never seen him at a Grand Prix before so I'm glad I was able to watch him drive at the 2010 Belgian GP and 2011 British GP.

Its a good thing i saw michael at last race in singapore although it did not end well, it was a great and memorable experience for me considering that was my first gp im still lucky to have witnessed his presence on the track. I became an f1 fan becuase of michael since 95, i will leave a big hole in my heart. F1 will never be the same for me without michael. Thank you for having the courage to come back and giving it all every race. Good luck schumi!

In the eyes of many less knowledgeable fans, Michael Schumacher was the undisputed best ever driver in F1. In this respect, his time at Mercedes must have done some damage to the Schumacher legend.

There is no doubt that Michael was always very fast in a car but his time up against Niko ( who I don't think is an absolutely top class driver ), has confirmed what a lot of us always thought.

Many, including myself, regard Michael as one of maybe ten to fifteen great drivers including Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton from the modern era. I think it's impossible to definitively say more than that about him.

Michael became the most successful F1 driver in the history of the sport because he benefited from a unique situation which he helped to nurture and that can never be repeated :

After years in the doldrums, Ferrari assembled one of the best-ever design teams and a management structure that put winning above any consideration of good sportsmanship.
The team was further backed by a huge budget and fantastic facilities including their own test track which the rules permitted them to use to the full.

Fiorano alone gave them a substantial advantage over every other team, as did their privileged relationships with the FIA and Bridgestone whose tyres were designed very much with Ferrari in mind.

Michael was further helped by having clear No 1 status compared with the equal No 1 status given to drivers from the British teams like Williams and McLaren.

Comparisons of race wins with drivers from previous eras like Fangio, Jim Clark and Stirling Moss are not valid because Michael competed in far more F1 races in each season so that increased his opportunities to score wins and accrue an enormous tally of points over his long career.

Great improvements in safety. led by Sid Watkins, also paid their part here because many potentially great careers tragically ended early. ( Ronnie Petersen for one )

None of this is designed to detract from Michael's achievements, which were many, but they need to be appreciated and put into perspective against this background.

Michael continues to be lucky, he has a strong family, the money and status to have a wonderful life and nothing more to prove.

I hope he comes to appreciate this, puts racing behind him and has a well deserved, long and happy retirement.

The writing was on the wall since 2010. He seems to be a more balanced individual than first time around although he still has had his arsehole moments like at the Hungaroring a couple of years back. Unspectacular on his return and looked like he was out of his depth when dealing with the new generation (much more competitive than the mid-1990's) but hopefully he can utilise his experience for the good of motorsport in the future.

The writing was on the wall since 2010. He seems to be a more balanced individual than first time around although he still has had his arsehole moments like at the Hungaroring a couple of years back. Unspectacular on his return and looked like he was out of his depth when dealing with the new generation (much more competitive than the mid-1990's) but hopefully he can utilise his experience for the good of motorsport in the future.

Like defending successfully lap after lap at Monza last year? Putting the Merc on pole at Monaco this year? Outqualifying his much younger team mate this year? Out racing him much of last year, as the majority of this?

He's out of his depth dealing with GP2 crashkids, but then so are many other front running drivers when lumbered with a shitbox donkeymobile and thus shoved back into the chaos of the pack.

I'm sad to see him retire, but reading some of his speech I can't help feeling Merc somewhat demotivated him (through failing year after year to deliver on their DC like "this year is.. no, wait, next year will be" promise), and though he's most likely got at least one, probably two decent years left in him, he would probably rather not spend them continually getting caught in the midfield carnage when he's a proven race and title winner.

I'm going to guess that a) the rumours of him saying "I'll take any seat, I need F1, I must drive" were media bullshit to try and demean his reputation (ie champion turned desperate), and either Sauber couldn't come through with ebnough promise, and/ or Ferrari don't have the second seat spare after all. A shame his career has ended this way, but I can't help pinning more of the blame on Mercedes than Schumacher being past it after seeing how he's been treated of late, not to mention how they repeatedly failed him (and themselves) time after time.

The only reason I will be watching in 2013 is to cheer for the DNF of the Mercs at every race. They way they have treated him, Ross Brawn in particular is disgusting and I hope the team go to hell.

Mercedes gave him 3 years where his disappointing results would have got him nowhere anywhere else. Ross Brawn made it clear Schumacher had not committed to next year and the team needed a solution. Hamilton approached Merc and they snapped him up like any team would in that position. If you are only going to watch the sport to encourage your inner bitterness then maybe its time you gave it up for your own sake. Lifes too short to follow something you don't enjoy.